The Dying Shadow
by melry
Summary: His life was dwindling away because of a disease, but he was determined not to tell them. Will they find out about it before it's too late, or will Kuroko have his way?
1. Chapter 1

**This story has angst. If you don't like angst, I don't recommend reading this story. ****I wrote this chapter some time ago, took a break from it, and I decided to continue it. **

**Summary: His life was dwindling away because of a disease, but he was determined not to tell them. Will they find out about it before it's too late, or will Kuroko have his way?**

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It was outside of school hours when Kuroko was heading for Seirin's gym. As he walked toward his destination, he covered his mouth when he let out a series of coughs. Then he sighed. He could see his breath visible in the cold, winter air. The coughing was getting worse. He stared at the snow, which was falling gently from the sky and landing onto the ground below. It formed a thick, white layer, which covered the surface of the ground like a blanket.

Even with his winter coat, he was freezing, but he was still glad it was winter. It gave him an excuse to blame the coughing on the cold. It made it easier for him to hide.

As he watched the falling snow, he remembered that doctor's appointment as clearly if it happened only yesterday, and not a few weeks ago.

_"Kuroko-san," the doctor said, "I'm sorry to inform you of this, but you seemed to have developed an illness, and it's incurable."_

_Kuroko froze at the last word. "Incurable?"_

_The doctor pursed his lips. "Yes, meaning there's no cure for it. Scientists are researching studiously for a cure, but it's still in development. Unfortunately, it may take several years before it could be tested. But by then, you'll be..."_

_"Are you telling me that I will eventually die from this disease?"_

_The doctor's eyes held a mixture of pity and sympathy for him. "Yes." _

_And just like that, Kuroko's life is changed forever._

Kuroko laughed quietly to himself, an action that was out of his character, but even he could not act normally when he just found out that he had some incurable disease. He didn't laugh because it was funny; he laughed at how bad his luck was.

He closed his eyes as he stopped and leaned back against the wall of the gym to rest for a bit.

But at least he discovered it after Seirin won the Winter Cup. If he knew beforehand, it would have been a bittersweet victory for him. It would have negatively affected his ability to play in the basketball games, and that would have been bad for his team.

The doctor said he might have only about three years at most, maybe even less. If he was lucky, he would have five years left. He might be able to get past twenty, but he will never get past thirty years old, and in the worst case scenario, he'll will never make it to full adulthood. He would die as a teenager. The thought of it is discouraging.

At that, he opened his eyes, and he stood up. He entered the gym and was relieved that there was no one inside except him. He didn't think he was in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

He walked up to the basketball that was laying on the middle of the indoor basketball court. He reached down and held it in his hands. While he took a stance and held the ball up, he prepared to aim for a phantom shot. He let the memories of his time with the Seirin basketball team, the Teikou basketball team, and all his friends fly by in flashbacks in his mind. He threw the basketball. It made a small arc before going into it the basket perfectly.

His arms dropped to his sides. It was only mere months ago, when he wasn't able to shoot a single shot without missing. The world sure had a cruel sense of humor. Who would have thought that he would work hard improving his basketball skills to help his team win the Winter Cup, and hope to play on Seirin's team for the rest of his high school years, only to find out later that he was dying?

The irony was unwelcome.

He didn't want to believe it at first. He was stubborn about it. He had said nothing about it to his teammates, and continued to go to basketball practice as if nothing happened, but as days passed, it became apparent that his health wasn't good. He got exhausted more easily than usual, and continuing to play such an energy-consuming sport as basketball wasn't helping at all.

Normal colds didn't last too long, and it was only a matter of time before his friends will realize that he wasn't having a simple cold but something much worse. As long as he was near them, he couldn't hide it for long.

He didn't want them to know. They would only be concerned, and he hated to be a burden and be the source of their worry. The last thing he wanted was to live out the rest of his life where his friends were constantly worrying about him. He didn't want his last memories of them to be their sad expressions. He wanted them to continue looking at him with happy smiles until the very end.

"I guess I have no choice," he whispered to himself. His mouth formed a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. It was not his usual blankness that filled his expression, but of sadness. "I'll have to quit basketball, don't I?"

He already knew the answer to that question, and he didn't like it.

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**Reviews are appreciated.**

**I know Kuroko might be OOC, but he just found out he was going to die, and I doubt he would act normally to that. I'm not a medical expert. Anything that happens in this story might not be accurate. I hope you understand that. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews and support! **

**Summary: His life was dwindling away because of a disease, but he was determined not to tell them. Will they find out about it before it's too late, or will Kuroko have his way?**

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For days, Kagami knew that his shadow was not acting like his normal self.

He watched Kuroko pass a ball to Hyuuga. It may be part of his imagination, but for a moment, the pass looked slightly shaky, lacking the usual grace that Kuroko's passes had. Kagami thought his eyes were just playing tricks on him. However, as he watched Kuroko pass again and again, it was becoming increasingly clear that there was something wrong.

Kagami wondered if the others noticed yet for they had yet to say anything about Kuroko's worsening performance during practice. He hoped that it really was just his imagination and that nothing's wrong.

In any case, he couldn't just watch. He needed to ask Kuroko later about what's wrong.

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Kagami found the perfect chance to talk with Kuroko when they both arrived at Maji burger together.

"You're acting weird."

That was the first thing Kagami said when he and Kuroko both sat down at one of the many tables of Maji Burger like they usually did after basketball practice, and like usual, Kagami had a large stack of burgers in front of him and swallowing each burger in just two bites each.

Kuroko blinked at him. "How so?"

"You didn't order a vanilla milkshake like you always do." And sure enough, he was right. Kuroko would normally have a shake in hand right now whenever they decided to go to Maji Burger. Except today, his hand was empty, and he was just staring blankly at Kagami. "Not only that, but during practice these days, you seem... out of it," Kagami said. Kuroko didn't seem as focused at basketball practice liked he was used to, and Kagami thought it was nothing at first, but as days passed, it was clear that Kuroko was acting differently.

Kuroko was quiet for a moment. "Is Kagami-kun worried about me?"

"Well, yeah," Kagami admitted, a little flustered, "You're one of the most passionate basketball players I ever met, and to see you so distracted when you play doesn't seem like you."

Kuroko smiled at him, which made Kagami choke on a hamburger because Kuroko hardly ever smiled. "Thank you, but you don't have to worry about me. I was just thinking about something, and I don't think I realized it affected me this much." It was a lie, of course. Kuroko knew perfectly well that it affected him a lot, but he had to make sure that Kagami thought he was fine. "I'll try my best not to let it get to me anymore."

"That's good," Kagami replied, "But if you ever need to talk about whatever is bothering you, I'm all ears."

Kuroko continued to smile. He and Kagami had come a long way since the first time they met each other. Back then, Kagami was rash and unfriendly, but it was obvious now that he and Kuroko were good friends now. But that was also a reason why Kuroko wasn't ever going to talk about what's bothering him with Kagami, yet Kuroko nodded in response anyway.

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**Reviews are appreciated.**


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